St. Landry democrat., 1887-12-24

E1aggeration as to the Number of It's In
habitants -Tombs of Some of the Rulers
of the Celestial Kingdom-A Walk Upon
the Wall-Power of Exc1usiveness.
ICopyri0hted. 1851
Paradise Lost" with the first book by
Milton and the remainder by a school
boy, would hardly afford more pitt
full contrast than Peking, projected
by the mighty if somewhat crude, genius
of Kuhlai and carried out by his sue
cessOrs The massive wall surrounding the
city, and the broad avenues intersecting it,
bear witness to the large conception of the
Mongol cOnQuerOr, while the entire absence
Of worthy architectural monuments either
ancient or modern, and the very obtrusive
presence of filth and ruin, both new and Old,
bcspeak the narrow, selfish and unprogressiye
character of the cOnquerOr's Successors.
The principal approach to Peking from
the south is made by what has been described
as magnificent paved road 100 yards wide
and ten miles long. This magnificent road is a
fair example Of all things else i'll China-a
useless ruin; hinderng instead Of helping,
and all the worse now for having originally
been laid out with largeness. The accustomed
wayfarer avoids the rutted misplaced stone
blocks of the magnificent road, to wade
through the sand Of the more modest one
running nearly parallel to it.
Strain your eyes as you will as the miles
fall behind you and you approach the great
city, and still you will not see the faintest
sign of its existence; not even the traditional
pagoda, without which, in western eyes a
Chinese landscape is as naught, can be seen
with its picturesque curves rising above
the fiat plain; the populous suburb is
searched for in vain, the carefully cultivated
fields thcn-where are they? Where, in
deed. Behind those mighty walls perhaps
invisible Streams of people are coming and
going. Some on horseback some on mule
back and some on donkeyback, some walk
ing, some riding in jo!ting two-wheeled
springless, covered carts some on wheel
barroWs.
Fifty feet or more the city walh tower per-
pendicIllarly above You, and yet from Ger
tain correspondence or harmony in color
with the dirty mat sheds at their feet and
them, they are not noticeable until they
suddenly rise up before you almost like one
Of Aladdin's magic structures.
The great gatcways are well preserved and
picturesque enough to tempt the imagina-
ton to Speculate upon the sights beyond
them. Strong buttresSes flank the we'll
arched entrances and a stout semi-circular
wall connecting the buttresses helps to form
large incOSure between the inner and outer
gates. Within this inclosure the fancy
might well be excused for picturing guards
worthy of the surroundings. Alas for any
play of fancy in Peking. The guards are
only distinguished from ordinary folk by
being more dirty and disreputable, the first
condition a seemingly impossible one.
Passing through the central eastern gate
and along the busy thoroughfare which leads
straight away from it, the metropolis itself
suddenly bursts upon the sight. Not the
metropolis architectually, but in its human
aspect Here is the great avenue which cuts
the city from the north to the south wall.
L. is not more than three and a half miles
long, but in width might accommodate three
or four such streets as Broadway, New York.
The roadway in the middle is raised a foot
or more above the sides, but does not other
wise differ from them.
Looking upon the avenue with the half
closed eyes of the artist who wishes to shut
out details and take in only the general
effect, a bright and animated picture is seen.
The squat Mongol, the slender, masterful
Tartar the shrewd Chinaman, and perhaps
Corea or any part of Asia or Europe may
have representative there Buddhist
priest, Lama-rObed Jesuit, every sort of
Protestant missionary; gayly-clad native
women mounted on high saddles on low
donkeys pursued by the omnipresent
donkey boy magnificent black mules, best
ridden by Tartar mobiles twowheeled carts
of many sorts, wheelbarrows, mule-litters,
groups of donkeys waiting for hire, clusters
of carts, drivers asleep inside ready for
customers.
All these are there. But open the eyes
and see also the black filth six inches deep
on the street, see the rows of dingy, ruinous
one-story novels, the dlapidated sheds en-
croaching on and frequently covering the
entire side road. See the dirt. Smell it,
Disease? Yes Smallpox, cholera. It is
the exception to see in Peking the person who
is not pitted and in the place of our general
inquiry, "How do YOU do?" they have there
the specific one, How is the smallpox with
you"'
But to see Peking, the city, it will be neces-
sary to take advantage of the privilege ac-
corded to foreigners and denied to natives
walk upon the wall. In many respects
Peking is the most un-Chnese city in China,
but in one important respect it is typical of
what is most Chinese in China. Exclusive
ness, tremendous moral force in the en-
pire is at the capital city given physical
being Standing on the south walk of the
city this fact is visible in all its details.
Looking northward the eye is caught by
wall of vivid red color. This wall incloses
the palace harcm and other imperial build
ings and grounds, which are generally known
as the prohibited city. Within this inclo-
sure not even natives are allowed, save only
such as have imperial business there; and
they are for the most part Manchus. Some
distance outside of the red wall is seen
another wall conspicuous by reason of the
enameled yellow tiles which surmount it,
and which glitter and glisten in the sun with
truly imperial splendor. Within this wall is
the so-called imperial city, an inclosure in
tended solely for the use of the Tartar no.